


Proper Preening

by Kalira



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Wings, M/M, Season/Series 01, Soulmates, Wings, preening
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29392236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalira/pseuds/Kalira
Summary: Shiro and Keith have both been rather lacking in care - both physical and emotional - over the time they were apart; finally finding a quiet evening aboard the Castle of Lions, they take some time to remedy the situation with devoted warmth.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 46
Collections: Valentine's Spectacular (2021)





	Proper Preening

Shiro shifted minutely, feeling himself gradually going boneless. It had been _so long_ since his wings had been properly cared for - so long since he had felt his mate’s hands in his feathers, stroking and preening. He moaned softly, head drooping forwards, and Keith gave a soft crooning trill, stroking the nape of his neck.

Shiro shivered, and Keith squeezed his shoulders, right at the base of his neck, kneading gently before murmuring a request. Shiro lifted his wings and angled them as Keith had asked, and he kissed the top of Shiro’s head before resuming his work preening.

Feathers fluffing as Keith’s clever fingers skated along a sensitive stretch along one curving bone, Shiro opened his eyes and tilted his head to look around at his mate. Keith smiled, meeting his gaze, and tugged gently at one of his feathers.

Shiro returned the smile, bringing his legs up in front of himself and leaning on his knees. He glanced at his right wing and sighed.

The sleek black feathers he had fledged into as a child, shining with faintly silvery traces in the bright light of the Castle, were patterned with vibrant crimson and violet, as they had been since he first met Keith - or, rather, since the week after they met, when Shiro had seen him dive off a cliff and followed, afraid the skinny boy, who hadn’t even yet spread his wings, was going to plummet to his death.

Keith had, of course, been fine - wings snapping out with a bone-shaking crack as he rapidly reversed his course, almost slingshotting back up into the sky a breath from impact with the rocks. _Shiro_ had nearly hit the ground, despite being rather higher than Keith and not cutting his dive nearly so close.

Keith had caught him, of course - _now_ Shiro wasn’t surprised, he knew his mate too well, but _then_ he had been almost as shocked that the much slighter flier had managed to haul him around as he had been to see the patterns blooming across his wings. They hadn’t made it all the way back up, but Keith had brought them in for a safe landing and then simply . . . gone still, staring at his own wings and their new purple and silvery-grey patterns in bewilderment.

Keith shifted behind him, shin pressing up against Shiro’s side, warm and solid, and he smiled, reaching to squeeze Keith’s ankle and stretching his wings as his mate’s hands lifted away from them.

“How do you feel?” Keith asked, smoothing his palms over Shiro’s wings. He smiled, though it wavered as he looked around at his wings once more. They were patterned with the crimson and violet that marked his bond with his mate, and he was grateful those patterns were undisturbed, but the leading edge of each wing was now a pale grey-white - as though all the colour in those feathers had been leached away.

“Better.” Shiro said, leaning back and sliding his arms over Keith’s thighs, elbows resting on the couch on either side of his mate. He tilted his head back with a grin as he met Keith’s gaze upside-down. “Amazing. Thank you, baby.”

Keith grinned, stroking his cheek. “You know I love taking care of you.” he said quietly, and Shiro’s smile softened as he nuzzled into the touch, basking in the contact for long moments.

He sat forwards with a sigh, twisting to face Keith and extending his hands. “Let me take care of you.” he asked, and Keith hummed, sliding down into his lap with a flick of his oversized, sharply-angled wings. They were a little ragged - truly, they were in almost as poor condition as Shiro’s had been - but still the most striking pair Shiro had ever seen, he thought fondly, running his fingers through his mate’s feathers.

“Later.” Keith said, and Shiro frowned slightly.

Keith tsked and reached up, cupping his face before winding one arm around his shoulders, drawing him into a kiss and settling deeper into his lap. Shiro trilled softly, low in his throat, and returned the kiss, wings arching thoughtlessly as he curled an arm around his mate’s waist.

As the kiss deepened, Shiro’s fingers sank into Keith’s feathers and he was reminded of his desired task by the ragged, thin feeling of them. He frowned as he pulled away, though Keith followed him, catching his mouth once more. It was difficult to deny how much Shiro had longed for the contact as well, and his wings curled forwards, closing around Keith and keeping him close.

Eventually they did stop, and Shiro nuzzled his mate’s cheek. “Why later?” he asked, a little breathless.

Keith’s embrace tightened. “I just. . .” he trailed off, hiding his face between Shiro’s shoulder and his wing.

Shiro hummed, stroking his back and wings, rubbing the nape of his neck. “Baby?”

“I just want you to hold me.” Keith said softly, barely a murmur in Shiro’s ear. “Just like this, love. For a while? Please?”

Shiro swallowed thickly, wings fluffing up as he wrapped them closer around Keith without thinking. He shivered, his own wings fluffing a little as well, though not so well - his feathers truly did need caring for, and some of them needed to be pulled, unfortunately - as he arched against Shiro’s chest.

“As long as you like.” Shiro promised, winding his fingers into Keith’s hair and meeting his mate’s brilliant smile with a soft one of his own. Keith kissed him again, quick and hard, and Shiro surrendered to it with pleasure, enjoying the warm feeling of his mate in his arms, in his lap, hidden away safely in his wings.


End file.
